Gareth Bale has won permission to open an indoor adventure golf centre in Bristol city centre despite more than 100 residents’ objections.
Councillors granted a premises licence for Par 59, which will open next to Lane 7 in Harbourside this autumn, after the football superstar’s business venture scaled back the hours following police concerns. Neighbours argued the proposed venue was a “bar” and should not be allowed because of its location in the city centre cumulative impact area (CIA) where alcohol-led late-night establishments are at “saturation point”, and that it would increase antisocial behaviour and noise.
But Bristol City Council’s licensing sub-committee granted the application by True Swing Bristol, a company formed by the Wales captain and three business partners in January, after ruling that the venue was not primarily a drinking hole but instead a place for holing putts. Real Madrid winger Bale was referred to several times but not named once during the hearing at City Hall on Thursday (April 21), which was attended by the firm’s other three directors James Humphrys, Nicholas Saunders and Peter Cro.
